Another weekend of women’s football is here, and so too is another weekend preview. With Tier 3 clubs in Women’s FA Cup action, our league focus is on WSL and WSL2, but not before we take a look back at last weekend when Tiers 1 and 3 were in action, with WSL2 having paused for Subway Player’s Cup matches!
Gameweek 6 brings 6 goal shock
Gameweek 6 in the WSL brought a few big results, but none were perhaps bigger than Tottenham Hotspur, who started the season with 4 unbeaten and 15 goals scored in those games, conceding 6 to a fellow London team for the second weekend in a row. This time it was Chelsea who inflicted the damage. Whilst the teams were fairly evenly matched when it came to shots on target, Chelsea proved to be more clinical. The 6-2 scoreline puts both teams on 18 goals scored this season, with only the league’s frontrunners, Manchester City, having scored more, with 19 goals.
City’s 19 goals include the 3 they scored last weekend against Brighton, where they were 3 goals up within the first 20 minutes, as they looked comfortable in their efforts to remain the only team in the league to have a 100% win rate so far this season. Brighton however did not fold, and by half time had pulled the scoreline back to 3-2. After 5 goals in the first 45, the second half was a different matter with City having the only shot on target over that 45 minute period. It’s the second time in 3 games that City have managed only a one goal margin against a team in the bottom 4, a fact they will be all too aware of with 3 of their next 4 league games against United (5th), London City Lionesses (3rd) and Chelsea (2nd).
At the other end of the table Charlton remained in search of their first WSL point as they hosted a Manchester United team who seem to be finding form. It was a familiar story however for Charlton, only managing 3 shots all game, compared to United’s 18, and managing only 24% possession. With United having been 2 goals up within the first 10 minutes, the eventual 1-3 scoreline was perhaps even not as bad as Charlton may have feared.
In the best of the rest, struggling Birmingham City, currently in 13th, managed a point against another team struggling for form, as they left the Emirates with a point and a 1-1 scoreline against an Arsenal team who remain winless in the league since the opening day. Arsenal were in many ways the better side, having 76% possession and 27 shots to Birmingham’s 5, but with only 4 of those being on target, Arsenal need to find a way to score, with their 5 goals scored so far this season being joint 2nd from bottom in the league.
Tier 3 goalfest again
Once again Tier 3 delivered a plethora of goals, and once again Plymouth Argyle were on the receiving end of many of them – falling to a 0-5 defeat for the 3rd time in the league this season (with 0-4 and 0-6 also having been amongst their results). Increasingly it is hard to see anyone else taking bottom spot in the Sothern Premier Division this season, and such an outcome will only seek to emphasise the impact of the ownership decisions this summer that saw investment in the women’s side reduced. Last season Argyle scored 61 goals – an average of 2.7 goals per game – whilst conceding only 11 times, equating to one goal conceded every 2 games. That this team now sits bottom of the league having scored just 1 goal every 2 games, whilst conceding 36 – an average of 4.5 per game, is not a reflection of the young squad stepping out to represent their club every week, but a reflection of an ownership who simply have to do more. Bournemouth meanwhile will have been delighted to get back on track after having lost to the 2 teams above them in their last 2 outings.
Portsmouth had only conceded 1 goal going into last weekend, and were unbeaten since the opening day, but conceded in the opening 10 minutes against 10th placed Cheltenham Town. They would go on to concede 2 more, but scored 6 in a 9 goal thriller to extend their unbeaten run to 6 league games.
At the top of the table, both Oxford United and Fulham also secured wins, although AFC Wimbledon did become the first team this season (8 games in!) to score against Oxford, taking the lead in the first half. With Oxford also going down to 10, the 1-2 final score was reflective of another less convincing scoreline than the 5-0 wins they secured 3 of in the opening weeks, but whilst they can still grind out the wins they will be happy enough.
In the Northern Premier Division, West Bromwich Albion extended their winning streak to 6 games in a row, keeping their grip on second place with a 0-2 win at Norwich. The result put an end to Norwich’s own 4 game unbeaten run, as they fell to their first home defeat of the season.
Top of the table Rugby Borough made the trip to a Stoke City side who started the weekend in 3rd place, with both teams having only lost once so far this season. The game looked like it might be the close battle the table positions suggested, with the first goal not arriving until first half added time, however in the second 45 Rugby Borough ended up comfortable winners, with a 0-3 final score.
In the other matches, all four of the league’s bottom teams fell to defeat, with bottom of the table Hull losing at home to a Peterborough United side who now have 3 wins on the bounce, including against 2 of the teams below, as they begin to break away from the teams at the bottom. Having lost the previous weekend, for the first time this season, Huddersfield Town secured 3 points at home against 11th placed Middlesbrough, whilst Liverpool Feds bounced back from 2 consecutive defeats as they secured a 0-2 victory away at Loughborough.
WSL Derbies
With 2 Saturday games this weekend in the WSL, the first game of the weekend is already underway, with Tottenham and Arsenal tied 1-1 at half time as we write, in the North London Derby. Both teams will feel under pressure to get a win, but with Arsenal winless since the opening day, and audible discontent as the ref blew the final whistle at the Emirates last weekend, Arsenal will surely feel under more pressure to secure 3 points. The last 2 North London Derbies that Spurs have hosted have seen them fail to score, so on the back of the 2 huge losses to London City Lionesses and Chelsea, Spurs will surely be the happier side if the score stays as is.
With all eyes on London today, tomorrow United host the Manchester derby, with both teams in good form which suggests we could be in for a good game. With City on maximum points so far they will surely be favourites, whilst United will be all too aware that both last season’s league derbies saw them lose 3-0. With both teams having kept just one clean sheet this season it feels a safe bet to suggest this game has goals on the cards!
Earlier in the day Birmingham City welcome Charlton Athletic as the only winless teams in the league this season face off. Birmingham however have secured a draw in half of their league fixtures this season, including last weekend’s point at the Emirates, so will feel they have the edge against a side who have scored only 3 goals this season, with only 1 of those coming away from home. Birmingham also have the edge when it comes to creating chances, having averaged 3.7 shots on target per match compared to Charlton’s average of just 1.
Elsewhere, London City Lionesses make the long trip to Liverpool hoping to extend their club record run of 4 WSL wins in a row and keep their grip on the much coveted 3rd place slot and the potential of Champions League qualification at the end of the season. With only Chelsea having conceded less goals this season than London City, Liverpool will know that their attack are in for a tough afternoon if they are to get a result.
WSL2 resumes with huge fixtures at both ends
With WSL2 teams not having played a league game for 3 weeks, all eyes will be on The City Ground to see whether 2 teams with an unbeaten start to the season can pick up where they left off, and who may come out on top. The visitors, Newcastle, head into the fixture on maximum points and having only conceded one league goal all season, with clean sheets on both of their away trips up to this point. Forest should not be written off, but having kept only one clean sheet in their 5 games this season they will surely need to improve on their average goal return per game of 1.6 if they hope to fight for the 3 points.
The league’s other 2 unbeaten teams also face each other as third placed Ipswich host second placed Sunderland. Both teams have not conceded more than one goal in a league game this season with Ipswich having kept 2 clean sheets, compared to Sunderland’s one. Sunderland have picked up maximum points on their travels so far this season, and having averaged 2.2 goals per game so far in the league, may feel that combined with their away form this gives them the edge against a team whose average goals is only 1.4 per game.
At the other end of the table the bottom 4 also play each other, with 11th placed Burnley hosting 9th placed Sheffield United, with the hosts still in search of their first league win of the season. Burnley have the lowest goal return in all 3 tiers so far this season, having found the net just once in their opening 5 games, whilst Sheffield United have found the net in 3 of their 4 losses this season. In the other bottom of the table clash, 10th placed Watford head to Durham – the only team in WSL2 without a point so far. Watford will surely feel the opportunity is there to secure their first win of the WSL2 season. Like Sheffield United, you have to go back to the opening day of the season to find the last league game where Watford failed to score, and with Durham having conceded an average of 3.2 goals per game, the visitors will need to tighten up their defence if they hope to come away with their first WSL2 point of the season.
With a busy weekend last weekend, and some huge clashes in WSL2 as they return to action after 3 weeks away, it’s been a tough ask to find the biggest numbers this week, so we’d love to hear from you if you think there’s something we’ve missed. Equally let us know if there’s a number we need to be taking a look at next weekend when we’ll be reviewing a midweek round in tier 3, and looking ahead to a league weekend where only WSL clubs will be in action with Subway Players Cup, FAWNL Cup and FAWNL Plate fixtures meaning the other leagues will take another pause. Get in touch by dropping us a mention via @WOSODataUK on X or Instagram!
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